Today is mum's birthday, today she turns 60. It's funny to see your parents grow older, to see them at a age that you would have known your grandparents to be. To me, my mother has remain the same person that I first grew to know as that baby in her arms, yet I am now almost as old as she was when she had me. I have grown, become independent, and turned into a adult (whatever that means), and she has been there the whole time to nurture and support me.
Its hard to fathom that I have known my mother for nearly half her life.
So to you mum, Happy birthday. I love you to the moon and back
 |
| P.S I can't take the credit of being this cute baby, she is my sister. |
And now for some cake.....
When we were kids and wanted to bake, we always made wacky cake. And I mean always. I can recall how the cookbook used to just flop open to that recipe - a combination of us breaking the books spin and the amount of cocoa and cake batter plastered to the very special pages of that recipe.
Wacky cake, otherwise know as crazy cake, is that war time/depression time cake, which out of sheer necessity, is conveniently vegan - no milk, no eggs, no butter - wacky, right!?
The reason we would always make this cake as kids was, 1) you don't need a lot of ingredients in the house to make it, 2) it's chocolate...what more can I say, 3) it is sooo easy that a child could make it - one bowl and your done. No whipping, no beating, no creaming, no nothing. Just a little stirring and a little waiting and voilà! Cake!
So when it came time to make my mum a cake I wanted to bake something not-to-fancy and somewhat healthy. I decided to make the wacky cake because it is totally stress free. I also decided to make it a bit healthier by sweetening it without any refined sugar, using maple syrup instead, and opting for sifted spelt flour over white or conventional wheat.
I baked this cake in a spring form pan and then filled it once it was cooled. If you are wanting more of a everyday cake (for bake sales, family dessert, or just a Friday night treat), you can simply bake the cake in a 8 by 8 square pan, letting it cool in the pan, then ice it with the chocolate fudge filling - skipping the vanilla coconut cream altogether.
For a fancier layer cake, you can bake it in an 8" spring form pan, fill it with chocolate fudge filling and ice it with the vanilla coconut cream.
Chocolate Cake Base
Recipe: Print it Here
Dry: 1 ½ Cups light spelt flour
4 Tbsp cocoa powder
½ tsp Sea salt
1 tsp Baking soda
2 tsp Baking powder
Wet: ¾ Cup of maple syrup
2 tsp vanilla
1 tsp Apple cider vinegar
6 Tbsp. coconut oil, melted
¾ Cup water
Procedure:
Pre heat the oven to 180 C or 350 F. Grease and flour a 8" spring form pan and set aside.
Combine dry ingredient together on a bowl. I find it helpful to sift in the cocoa, baking powder, and baking soda so that there are no lumps. Mix the dry ingredients until combined. Add wet ingredients to the dry ingredients and mix until combined. Pour mixture into prepaid pan and bake for 25-35 minutes or until the top of the cake springs back when lightly touched. Let the cake cool in the pan.
Chocolate Fudge Filling
Adapted from the Rawtarian
Recipe:
1 Cup dates, soaked for 30 min
¼ Cup cocoa powder
1 Tbsp Coconut oil
4- 6 Tbsp Reserved soaking water from dates
1 tsp Vanilla
Pinch of Sea salt
Procedure:
Soak dates in hot water for 30 minutes. After they have become soft, drain the dates but keep the soaking water. Combine the dates, cocoa powder, coconut oil, salt, and 4 Tbsp of the soaking liquid in a blender. Puree until the mixture is silky smooth, this may take some time. Add more soaking liquid as needed to achieved a spreadable filling. I used about 6 Tbsp but you may need more of less. I wouldn't recommend using more than 8 Tbsp as that might make the filling too runny.
Vanilla Coconut Cream
Recipe:
1 Can Organic full fat coconut milk
1 tsp Vanilla extract, Vanilla powder, or Vanilla bean (scraped)
1 Tbsp Maple syrup.
Procedure:
Place the can of coconut milk in the refrigerator for several hours to chill (to not put it in the freezer, I made is mistake once and it wasn't pretty). Once the coconut milk has chilled, spoon the creamy white coconut cream from the top, leaving the milky water stuff behind (keep the water for smoothies, baking, or soup/curry). Beat the coconut cream with an electric beater until soft peaks form. Add the vanilla and maple syrup and continue to whip. Once it has reached whipped cream like consistency, place in the refrigerator until ready to use.
* When choosing your coconut milk take a moment to read the labels. Some brands are full of weird thickeners, gums, and carrageenan. Other brands contain water and coconut flavour! Not even real coconut! If you can, try to buy one that just contains coconut milk, or coconut milk and water.
Assembling:
Once the cake has cooled, slice it horizontally and ice the bottom half with the Chocolate Fudge Filling. Top the bottom half with the other portion of cake and ice the top with the Vanilla Coconut Cream. Decorate with chocolate shavings or whatever you desire. I used some vegan chocolate wafers I picked up from my favourite health food store. Store the cake in the refrigerator until ready to use.
demetria says
I can't get over how beautiful this cake is, or how much I want to eat it.
demetria says
I can't get over how beautiful this cake is, or how much I want to eat it.
Anonymous says
Wacky Cake was the birthday cake in our house too growing up. I still make it! And I plan on this version for a birthday coming up next week! Thank you!
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
You're welcome! You really can't go wrong with a classic like wacky cake. I hope it's a hit at the birthday party <3
Laura Curtin @ Incredibly Edible says
Yum this looks awesome! Especially the Chocolate Fudge Filling!! Can't wait to make it. Thanks for the recipe:)
Anonymous says
Hi Sophie,
I just made this cake and my boyfriend and I think it's delicious!!
Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂
One question: on your photos the top of your cake looks pretty flat. My cake came out of the oven more bulgy. How did you get the top so flat?
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Simone
Anonymous says
Hi Sophie,
I just made this cake and my boyfriend and I think it's delicious!!
Thank you for sharing the recipe 🙂
One question: on your photos the top of your cake looks pretty flat. My cake came out of the oven more bulgy. How did you get the top so flat?
Greetings from the Netherlands,
Simone
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hello Simone,
I am glad that you and your boyfriend liked the cake! My cake was a little domed on top too. After I let it cool in the pan,I flipped it over - making the bottom of the cake into the top and the top the bottom -this doesn't affect the overall cake, but it is something I have always done as it makes for a better icing surface.
If your cake is really domed, you can always slice off the top making the cake flat and giving you a nice little snack of cake trimmings.
Take care,
Sophie
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hello Simone,
I am glad that you and your boyfriend liked the cake! My cake was a little domed on top too. After I let it cool in the pan,I flipped it over - making the bottom of the cake into the top and the top the bottom -this doesn't affect the overall cake, but it is something I have always done as it makes for a better icing surface.
If your cake is really domed, you can always slice off the top making the cake flat and giving you a nice little snack of cake trimmings.
Take care,
Sophie
Anonymous says
Thanks for your answer! Both good ideas 🙂
Regards,
Simone
Anonymous says
Thanks for your answer! Both good ideas 🙂
Regards,
Simone
Jesi says
Nice recipe! I am thinking of making this for my son's 3rd birthday!
Anonymous says
I'm thinking of making this for my birthday, can you taste the dates in the filling?
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you, Jesi! And happy birthday to your son 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Thank you, Jesi! And happy birthday to your son 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
I didn't taste the dates in the filling, but then again I like dates. If you aren't the biggest fan of dried fruit, you might notice them. However, I feel that for most people, the filling should only taste sweet and chocolaty 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
I didn't taste the dates in the filling, but then again I like dates. If you aren't the biggest fan of dried fruit, you might notice them. However, I feel that for most people, the filling should only taste sweet and chocolaty 🙂
Julie says
Hi Sophie, I made this cake for my son's birthday (he turned 1 on Friday!!) and it was absolutely amazing, a real hit. Everyone was amazed. Thanks so much for another great recipe.
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hello Julie, it's lovely to hear from you. Thank you so much, I am delighted it was a hit! Happy Birthday to your little one 🙂
les Gourmandises de Steph says
Hi Sophie! Do you think we can use normal all purpose flour instead of spelt? I really want to make it too!! 🙂
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Yes, that should be totally fine. You may just want to reduce the amount of flour by a couple of tablespoons since spelt is more water soluble. Best of luck!
Safiya Badgurl says
Hi Sophie! this cake looks amazing and I'd love to make it.
I dont have spelt flour, is it possible to substitute with almond flour?
Sophie - Wholehearted Eats says
Hey, Safiya! Thank you so much! I'm sure you could use some almond flour (like maybe 1/4 of it), but I feel that if you use all almond, it might be too crumbly. You could always try oat, wheat, or maybe even a gluten free mix! Best of luck!!
Elsa Rathgeber says
I have made this cake for the 7 years every single birthday occasion! Hands down my go to and everyone loves it !
Sophie says
So happy you love it, Elsa! <3